Medical marijuana bill changed in Senate, Assembly

The sponsors of a bill to legalize medical marijuana have made last-minute changes to the legislation in an attempt to win support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Sen. Diane Savino, D-Staten Island, and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-Manhattan, amended their bill just before midnight, which would clear the way for a vote on Thursday—the last day of legislative session.

But while the changes appear to be in response to concerns raised by Cuomo, the governor hasn’t signed off on the bill. And a key disagreement remains: the bill still allows patients over the age of 21 to smoke marijuana for medical purposes, which Cuomo opposes.

Among the changes in the newly amended bill:

Patients would be able to have two ounces of marijuana a month. The previous version of the bill allowed 2.5 ounces, but Cuomo on Monday publicly raised concerns about the